MANZAI DANCERS

Manzai was a traditional comic performing art in which pairs of performers — often in New Year costume — moved door-to-door through neighborhoods offering congratulatory recitations in exchange for payment or gifts. Koitsu's depiction of the manzai dancers captures a piece of the popular performance culture of old Japan that was disappearing as cinema and radio absorbed entertainment audiences. The figures in their distinctive masked and costumed attire stand as a record of a living performance tradition.